Chickasaw man charged with animal cruelty, again

HOUSTON – A Chickasaw County man has been charged once again with animal cruelty after three horses and two dogs were seized on his property and placed in the custody of a local animal rescue agency Thursday.
The Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Department and Golden Triangle Horse Rescue went to the home Bobby Huffman on County Road 28 about noon Thursday. This was the second time in two years authorities have been called to Huffman’s property to investigate allegations of animal cruelty.
“We found three horses in a very small pasture unable to get to water and eating the bark off of trees because they didn’t have hay or grass,” said Lynda Koch, president of GTHR. “We were on the scene for over two hours rounding up the horses and that is when we also spotted dogs that looked abused, one couldn’t even get up off the ground.”
Chickasaw County Sheriff Jimmy Simmons said GTHR signed an affidavit and a citation was issued to Huffman to appear in Chickasaw County Justice Court on charges of animal cruelty.
“We picked up two mares and a filly and one of the mares was in very critical condition,” said Koch. “The sad part was the owner lived on the property and this apparently had been going on for some time.”
Huffman was charged with animal cruelty in 2011 after several starved dogs were found chained on his property. Justice Court Judge Garry Turner found Huffman guilty of one count of animal cruelty on Oct. 20, 2011. Turner fined Huffman $325 and ordered him to pay $456.20 in restitution to the Amory Humane Department for the care of dogs taken from his property.
“We have received numerous calls about this situation and tried to work with the owner of the animals,” said Koch. “It was a horrible situation and I want to thank the public for notifying us. I also want to thank the Sheriff’s Department for helping us rope and round-up those horses.”
floyd.ingram@journalinc.com